


Help Me Rest

by CastielFollowMe



Series: Single Dad Shiro Verse [78]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Babysitting, Family Feels, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Injury, Keith has a big family, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:03:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CastielFollowMe/pseuds/CastielFollowMe
Summary: Keith is injured and has to remain on bedrest for a while. Luckily he and Shiro can count on their (big) family to save the day and watch over Keith.





	Help Me Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "Hi! Would you write teenage Keith getting injured and Shiro taking care of him while he's in pain? Thank you so much! Keep up with the great writing!"
> 
> *Please read end notes

Shiro had once thought he was prepared for anything. Back when he was first joining the military, fresh out of high school, Shiro was prepared for anything. He would laugh at people who found life full of surprises, as he and his brother felt like they were prepared. After all, Shiro was a member of a special operations unit where it was his  _duty_  to be prepared for the unexpected. Kuro was a well-known captain who was just as prepared as Shiro.

              Shiro learned he was quite  _unprepared_  the day he was held prisoner and the months to follow. He learned the hard way when he had mourned his brother’s death for over two years, before being shocked when his brother was found alive.

              Then came the biggest surprise of Shiro’s life.

              Keith.

              Raising Keith was full of unexpected surprises. From sicknesses such as cancer to radical haircuts, and ruining $200 worth of makeup, Keith was full of surprises. It took Shiro a while to adjust to this unexpected life and yet, every time Shiro felt he was prepared for anything to happen, something new always threw him for a loop.

              “I don’t understand how this happened.” Shiro rubbed his forehead tiredly. The poor doctor in front of him, sighed in agreement, while the professor next to him shifted on their feet anxiously.

              “Well, your son, unfortunately, lost focus during our sparing sessions in class which resulted in his opponent gaining the upper hand.” The gym professor replied quietly. Shiro breathed deeply through his nose, finally opening his eyes to look at the professor. _Really?_

              “I get that,” Shiro said tightly, trying to keep calm and level-headed. “What I don’t understand is how a  _ninth grade gym class_  left my son with three broken ribs and a bruised back.”

              “Well, sparring can get a bit rough,” The teacher tugged at his collar.

              “I know that. I was in the military once,” Shiro deadpanned. “My point is if  _properly supervised_  a freshman gym sparring session never should have gotten to the point where my son would receive broken ribs for  _any_  reason.” The professor swallowed nervously.

              “It takes a great deal of impact to break that many ribs.” The doctor finally intervened with a sigh. “I can understand the bruising and maybe a fractured rib, but to have three broken ribs would mean that Keith was being overpowered for a  _long_  time without proper supervision. I would expect an instructor such as yourself would have intervened if you saw this level of defeat occurring, correct?”

              “Y-Yes ma’am.” The professor nodded quickly when Keith’s doctor glared at him.

              The doctor glared at the professor for a few seconds longer before turning to Shiro. “He’s fine to be released whenever you want. He’ll be on the morphine for a few more hours. You should start some pain medication after dinner tonight and administer them when he becomes uncomfortable with the pain.”

              “Will he be okay?” Shiro nervously chewed on his lip. He would rather not let the professor see how worried he was, but he couldn’t help it. Keith was his son, and Keith’s health came before anything else. Even Shiro’s own health.

              “He should be fine. It’ll take a few weeks before his ribs fully heal. During that time I expect  _no_  high level of physical activity. For the first week or two, he should remain resting as often as he can. The bruises should fade in about a month. They’ll look worse before they go away.”

              “Yeah, I remember bruises.” Shiro shuddered.

              “As for you,” Keith’s doctor whirled on the professor, whose back straightened like a board. “Keith will not be allowed to participate in gym class any further. I will have a written document for the school, but I expect that he is allowed to pass this class, despite not being able to participate. It would be a shame should word get out of negligence towards a student.”

              “Yes, ma’am. He can study or do other work during class!” The professor said quickly. Shiro couldn’t help but grin at the doctor, watching with slight amusement at the way the professor was squirming under the fierce glare of the doctor.

              After a while, the professor was excused and the doctor left Shiro to attend Keith while she checked on other patients. Shiro sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. He paused outside of Keith’s room, hearing quiet voices just beyond the door. Shiro never would get over at how surprised he constantly was with Keith. Not that any of this was Keith’s fault. _Still, Shiro didn’t know how many more heart attacks his poor, frail, young body could take. He wasn’t even that old._

              Opening the door, Shiro smiled softly upon seeing Keith propped up by pillows and surrounded by his friends and family.

              “Dude, do you want Hunk and I to kick their butts? Because we could totally kick their butts.” Lance was demanding. Keith looked mostly unimpressed by Lance’s claim, but only Shiro could see the quirk of Keith’s lips which meant he was very happy.

              “You couldn’t kick anyone’s butt if you tried, Lance.” Keith huffed painfully.

              Lance gasped dramatically, opening his mouth to argue, only for Pidge to interrupt.

              “You’re right Keith, as always.” They pushed their glasses up the bridge of their nose.  “But Hunk totally could. He wouldn’t even need any help.”

              “That sounds like an excellent plan,” Kuro interjected playfully. He wrapped an arm around a nervous Hunk and beamed at Keith. “I could even help Hunk here out. Just give me the name of this punk and his address and we can  _chat._  Why I even bet that your uncles would  _love_  to help.”

              Kolivan, Ulaz, and Antok all nodded without a moment’s hesitation. Shiro bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud because he knew that all of them were  _completely_  serious. They would destroy this punk. Keith’s lips twitched and his shoulders jerked for a split second.

              “Dude,” Lance breathed happily, eyes sparkling as he grasped Keith’s hand in his. “If those guys all got involved, it would be just like those awesome villainous spy movies. Although they’d need super cool and tight outfits with aviators to look badass. Pidge could you rig an explosion in the background after they finish with the guy?”

              Pidge rubbed their chin thoughtfully. “Oh yes. We could plant in the enemy’s house.”

              “That would be awesome.” Kuro high-fived both Lance  _and_  Pidge. Shiro almost groaned. He was going to have to talk to his brother again about what was acceptable to plan with young, impressionable teenagers.

              “Yes. Only after making sure no innocent animals were in the house,” Antok added quietly. Pidge nodded.

              “Of course, you’re right. We can’t let any poor puppies or kittens get in the crossfire.”

              “Or hamsters,” Ulaz added.

              “Or tortoises and fish,” Kolivan added. Everyone stared at him and the gruff man simply shrugged. “I have three tortoises growing up. They can be quite cuddly.”

              Finally, Shiro laughed, turning everyone’s attention to him. “Alright, as much as I enjoy this grand theft auto moment –”

              “Shiro, no one said anything about stealing cars,” Kuro stated firmly.

              “There will be no destruction of houses with explosions in the background, nor will there be any manhunting. I’ve got everything taken care of. Right now, Keith needs to go home and rest.” Shiro continued with a disappointed glare towards his brother. Kuro pouted alongside Lance, looking much younger than he actually was.

              Keith immediately perked up at the noise, wincing for a moment. Instantly, Shiro felt his gut twist and how he wished to take Keith’s pain away.

              “I can leave?” He asked.

              “Yeah, as long as you listen to the rules the doctor has set up for you,” Shiro warned before smiling softly. Upon reaching Keith’s bed, he took a moment to observe Keith, wincing at the stark white bandages under Keith’s shirt. Gently, he ran his fingers through Keith’s hair, and Keith leaned back into the touch.

              “What kind of rules?” Keith asked quietly.

              “Non-negotiable rules,” Shiro chuckled when Keith sighed dramatically. “You’re not to do any physical activity for a month if you want everything to heal properly. You’re also exempted from gym class, but you’ll still pass it. And for the next week or two, it’s mandatory bed rest.”

              “What?! Dad, do you know how boring that will be?” Keith groaned. Shiro shook his head and grinned.

              “No way, besides you’ll always have your very own source of entertainment,” Shiro replied, causing Keith to frown in confusion.

              “What do you mean?”

              “Why you have an abundance of friends, uncles, and family who would  _love_  to entertain you and serve your needs  _every single day of your recovery.”_ Shiro beamed, this time at everyone else in the room. There was something menacing and chilling about his smile, though. Something that sent chills down everyone’s spine and compelled them to do whatever it was that Shiro wished. If only to be rid of that terrifying smile.

              “Right!” Kuro said quickly and smiled. “It’ll be great in no time.”

x.V.x

              Apparently, entertaining Keith was much harder than anyone thought.  _Who knew someone could get bored in the middle of a conversation?_

              Everyone had taken turns keeping Keith entertained and often alternated who was supposed to be watching Keith and when. After a few days, a rigorous schedule was kept keeping everyone’s sanity, and to make sure everyone was pulling their weight.

              In Keith’s defense, he was never demanding or pushy, however, there were only so many times he could listen to his Kuro’s one hand puns or hear Kolivan’s detailed explanation on why an eraser was a better weapon than a paperclip.

              Though Keith was loathed to admit it out loud, he appreciated all that his friend’s and family were doing for him. He enjoyed each and every one of their company and knew that life would be ten times worse without any of them.

              Lance came over alone on Monday. Apparently, he was respecting Keith’s wishes to have a “bonding day” (yes Keith he used quotations). The two spent the day screaming at each other over several video games because one of them would die at the worst moment. Or Keith kept friendly firing at Lance because Lance was a selfish jerk who ate his last twizzler. However, when Shiro came to check on them and suggest something else to do, Keith and Lance both stared at Shiro as if he had lost his head.  _This was fun._

              Tuesday, Hunk, and Pidge came over together. They brought their entire box of robots from the robotics club and held the meeting at the Shirogane house. Together, the three of them built a robot that kept spilling the milk on the floor and another robot that kept swinging poor Red’s leash around. She had been excited about a walk but immediately left when the robots became weird.

              Wednesday was Antok’s day and he was surprisingly alone as Kolivan and Ulaz both had to work. Antok had brought over a couple of birds that hung out at the zoo, much to Keith’s inner delight. For hours the two-spent time teaching the bird how to say the most ludicrous things. Such as imitating Keith’s voice to tell Shiro he wanted to live with mermaids and change his name to Estaban. Antok also taught a parrot how to speak Arabic in front of Keith and Shiro.

              Ulaz and Kolivan both came over on Thursday with monopoly and board games. Needless to say by the end of the night, a table was flipped, popcorn was spilled and bonds were severed. Keith was victoriously grinning with his hotels spread across the floor, while Ulaz cursed him in his native language about the youthful greed that ate his soul. Kolivan was content with his $45 and small railroad. Shiro was trying hard to not call bankruptcy after his son had charged him for landing on Park Ave with  _three_ hotels. Monopoly was forbidden in the Shirogane house after that.

              Thace and his wife came over on Fridays to cook meals and keep Keith company while Shiro worked long hours at the rescue center. He was babied by his grandmother and coddled by his grandfather, both of whom refused to let Keith lift a finger. By the time that Shiro had returned home, Keith was swaddled in two more blankets and being fed clam chowder with a movie playing. Of course, Shiro took several pictures.

              Saturdays were Kuro’s day to come and “free” Keith from his misery. He often kidnapped Keith and drove him around, with pillows all over his car and around Keith, to get food. The two usually wound up back at Kuro’s apartment, as Kuro told embarrassing (and not-so-embarrassing) childhood stories of Shiro. More often than not, Kuro would get lost in an admirable story of his brother and Keith didn’t have the heart to interrupt him. Not that he wanted to. He loved his uncle’s story and he loved hearing about his father.

              Sundays were days that everyone got together at the Shirogane house for breakfast and lunch. Afterwards, only once everyone left would Shiro and Keith be alone for the first time all week. It was nice being surrounded by such a big and loving family, but Keith and Shiro both treasured the moments they had where it was just the two of them.

              “It’s time for your pills. Here,” Shiro said softly, handing Keith a water bottle and his pills. Keith smiled gratefully at his dad and took them without complaint. Shiro could see the hidden pain in Keith’s eyes and he knew that Keith had been trying not to vocalize his discomfort. He was stubborn just like Shiro was and it was the biggest flaw that Shiro wished Keith hadn’t gotten from him.

              “How are you feeling?” Shiro asked softly, sitting down at Keith’s feet. Keith downed his pills and shrugged.

              “Fine.”

              “Keith.” Shiro looked pointedly at Keith, causing him to blush lightly.

              “Alright, my ribs are really sore,” He admitted. “But they don’t hurt as much as they did when I first hurt them. I swear. Plus, the bruising is  _finally_ starting to fade.”

              “I saw,” Shiro chuckled. “They’re not a hideous yellow anymore.”

              “Thank god.” Keith groaned. “I’m ready to get out of the house again.”

              “Uncle Kuro literally picks you up off the couch and out of my house,” Shiro stated.

              “And for that, I am still sane,” Keith snickered when Shiro pouted. “You know I get antsy.”

              “I know, I know. You’re stubborn just like your grandfather.” Shiro said playfully. He ducked when Keith swatted at him.

              “You mean, stubborn just like you?” Keith asked with one eyebrow up.

              “Ah,” Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. He refrained from saying anything else when Keith leaned himself against him. Keith’s head was draped over Shiro’s shoulder with his injured ribs tucked against Shiro’s side. Keith curled against Shiro softly and sighed.

              “But, I don’t mind quiet nights like this with you,” Keith said softly. “You always take care of me. Thanks, dad.”

              “Of course, I’ll always take care of you, kiddo.” Shiro smiled, rubbed his prosthetic hand in Keith’s hair. “That’s what I do.”  

              “Thanks. You always know how to make me feel better.” Keith said, closing his eyes.

              “Because you always make me better,” Shiro answered without hesitation. Keith immediately groaned to himself.

              “Dad, that is way too cheesy.”

              “Not as cheesy at my homemade mac n’ cheese!”

              “…We are not having that a third night in a row.”

              “Come on Keith! You know you love it!”

              “I don’t have your weird obsession for cheesy noodles.”

              “Keeeeith.”

              “Daaaaad.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, it's been a while since my last fic. I apologize about that. This is my final semester of college and I am currently in the begginings of my senior thesis project. It means this will be a busy semester for me. However, despite this, I still plan to continue writing when I can and continuing this AU along with my other writing projects. It just may take some time to post. Thanks for all your patience and thanks to those that are still sending in prompts, I promise to get to them!
> 
> Also if you want to help my research for my thesis project as a design student, I could use some responses from writers for my surveys! I am trying to design motion/videos tools and resources for self-publishing authors to users who may be new and unfamiliar on how to self-publish their books. These tools would be used at resources to get information and learn about the steps of self-publishing through visual motion pieces. If you would like to assist in my research (you would remain anonymous unless you say otherwise) I am looking for writers to fill out my surveys! You don't have to be a published/self-published author as I consider fanfiction and writing as a hobby to mean you are an author! Even if you've merely thought about self-publishing briefly, any and all research can help. If you would like to help please go to the links below to answer the survey. Each survey should take no more than 10 mins and I would appreciate it! Thanks!
> 
> https://goo.gl/forms/vBVeqPRqjLQCcbYI3  
> https://goo.gl/forms/EdrnhZmfK5M7Osou2
> 
> Thanks again and I plan to have more prompts published tomorrow!


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